Meal ideas for difficult toddler?

Question

My son is almost 3 and it is so difficult to get him to eat the right kind of foods. Up to about 3 months ago he wasnt so bad but now all he wants to eat is chicken nuggets, chips, spaghetti or yoghurt. Any ideas on how i can get him back to eating healthier foods? Even just something else!

Answer 1

You can try a reward system. Everytime he tries a new food, he can get a gold star (or something else). Or if he takes 5 bites of something that everyone else in the family eats, then he gets a reward - and he can eat a dessert that the rest of the family eats. For example, in order to get a piece of that grown up boy's chocolate cake, he has to be a big boy (like his daddy or his brother, etc). and have 5 bites of his vegetables.

Answer 2

Try switching to a veggie option (i.e. chicken 'style' nuggets/soya hot dogs etc) - they are so much better for you than the real thing (which have dreadful things in them, are full of chemicals and contain additives). He can eat them once or twice a week and they are still healthy. Try switching from chips to mash (perhaps with some vegetables mashed up in it). Yogurt and spaghetti (as long as it's not the tinned variety!) are good for him - have you tried different pasta shapes with a healthy plain tomato sauce?

Or you could try arranging his food on his plate in a dinosaur or car shape (whatever his favourite thing is).

It's very much trial and error, I'm afraid. Persevere until you find a variety of things he'll eat and rotate them, slowly introducing new flavours and textures until he's happy to eat a well balanced diet. Good luck!!

Answer 3

Just keep putting a bit of it out there for him. A lot of kids go through this. The doctor always told me not to stress too much on it. Their diet is not so much what they eat daily, but how it balances out for the week. So yogurt is good for him. Get quality chicken nuggets and just do variations of the foods he likes. Mac & cheese is a good one. I did have to force my son to try that he was so picky. Have the vegs out there and insist he take one bite but then let it go. Don't get into a battle with him, you'll lose. Hotdogs, as long as they are a good quality. They just don't care for gourmet type stuff at all.

Answer 4

arrange food on his plate in the shape of a face, make your own chicken nuggets- chop up a chicken breast, cover it in breadcrumbs with a little bit of egg to bind it and cook as normal
make your own spaghetti bolognese and blend up veggies in the sauce
have a reward chart if he eats something else every day and give a prize at the end of the week
if all else fails be a meanie and just serve other foods, don't let him snack and he will eat when he is hungry

Answer 5

spaghetti and yogurts are not bad. I would say don;t make eating as a issue. Let him off not eating anything for one or two meals, once he got the hunger feeling, he might willing to eat anything that time. Also, the less you are stressed about what he should have, the less "fun"/control he get out of it, the more likely he will drop that and pick something else to be fussy with... be prepared!

Answer 6

Let him help fix the food that will help him get intersted in what you are eating. Make colorful dishes. Like on a personal pizza make a smiley face. Offer small portions of whatever you have cooked and you could try offering rewards of a favorite food for trying new foods.

Answer 7

yogart and spaghetti are healthy. Perhaps use those for dinner as a reward for eatting other foods at lunch or breakfast. Your kid may not like a lot of other foods at this age, but as long as you get him to try different foods, you'll slowly discover more that he does.

Answer 8

One cool thing you could do is take him to the store to buy "his" favorite fork and spoon. My kids picked out every cartoon character you can imagine over the years... this may encourage or motivate him that meal time can be fun time too, if he uses his "special" utensils. If he is not cooperating, give him plain utensils and tell him he can have the "special" ones back only as long as he is eating with them. I think this also works because it kind of tricks the toddler into thinking he or she has control...something they LOVE! You can use this same concept with plates and glasses too...plain or fun. You could also play his favorite music during mealtimes, given he is eating like a big boy! It just may make a difference in his eating habits!

If your pediatrician isn't freaking out, nor should you. :)

Also, cut back on the snacks during the day if you can...he needs to be hungry in order to eat.

Answer 9

My step son is the same. For lunches I give him a sandwich, I use different cookie cutters though to make the sandwiches into different shapes, the plates always left empty.
Funnily enough he loves veg soup, have you tried giving him that?

I find the best way is to simply make food fun.

Answer 10

Have you tried getting him involved in the cooking. He might take more of an interest if he is doing it. My little sister doesn't eat vegetables - but its got to the bribary stage now - if she eats vegetables she can have one of her favorite cakes as a treat - if she doesn't eat them then she goes without the treat. Its simple and seems to be working. But you have to be strict with yourself - dont give into puppy dog eyes and crying.!